Personal Mission Statement

Leadership is well-known but not taken as serious when it comes to practicing and

applying it to real-life situations. I was enrolled in Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training

Corps in high school for all four years, and through it all, there has always been a strong

emphasis on obtaining and exercising leadership traits, skills, and principles so that we can apply

them to everyday situations in the future. One thing that I have learned from the program is that

there is no such thing as a natural born leader. Leaders are made. When I was notified of the

Illinois Leadership Center and the Leadership Certificate Program it offers, I took the

opportunity to exercise the traits, skills, and principles that I already possess as well as obtain

and sharpen others.

The three core values that I believe represent myself and my goals and aspirations are

reflection, social justice, and integrity. Reflection, in my opinion, can be divided into three

categories: self-reflection, peer-reflection, and group reflection. In each category, the goal is the

same: to seek improvement for the betterment of those involved. Self-reflection may be the most

important because at the end of the day, the only person who can change you is you, so

recognizing your own strengths, weaknesses, and values and acting upon them will result in

progress towards perfection. I strongly value social justice because I believe that everybody

deserves equal treatment and equal opportunity; however, there is a difference between equality

and equity. Equity takes into consideration prior hardships and privileges while equality strives

towards change without a past. With social justice, comes integrity. The “right thing to do” in

many situations varies and is often controversial because there will always be those who pay
while others benefit, so being able to make those decisions knowingly and truly believe that it is

the best decision for the whole is what I strongly value.

Leadership, to me, is a group process through which the leader and followers strive

towards and value an understood shared goal. I believe that followership is vital in any

leadership situation because they are the ones who believe and support the purpose of the group

as well as do a majority of the work. Without followers, a leader is not a leader. The overall

process of leadership is the key component of my definition. The process is what shapes and

defines the roles, commitment, and drive for each individual because groups are built and rely on

relationships between the leader and the followers and between the followers.

I am studying to become a Social Worker. I believe the skills and morals valued in Social

Work such as critical thinking, empathy, and ethics are also emphasized in leadership, especially

when leadership is put into practice. I will use my experience in this program to shape and

perfect my leadership skills in the hopes of better preparing myself for the heavy duty stressors

required in a social work career.

 Leadership Learning Goals

Since being on campus, I have been cautiously decisive into which opportunities I would

not only choose to act upon but even consider. I do not want to take on more than I can handle or

be involved with something that I do not enjoy, and due to this, I feel that I have set low

expectations on myself. I am not involved in a lot of clubs nor do I have a job. I keep telling

myself that it is because of the school work I have, but I am excelling. I have to question what I

value and what opportunities on campus relate. In doing so, I will be exposing myself to different

social environments. As a person, one has to possess a degree of openness to other points of

views. I believe I already possess a high degree of openness, but I will continue to strive towards

pressing my boundaries and educating myself. In a leadership setting, the leader has to notice

and appreciate the value of communication. In order to effectively do so, they must view others’

opinions as possible truths instead of opposing views. They have to set the example by actually

engaging with the group’s ideas. By breaking away from my somewhat closed-minded views

through battling my barriers and exercising openness, I will develop not only as a leader but as a

human being.

My high school emphasised community service to the extent that all students had to

complete at least ninety hours of community service before graduating. Since then, I have

become service-minded. I was involved in two registered service student organizations on

campus during the first semester and am still involved in one. I am very passionate about the

effects service has not only on the people the service is for but for the people who participated. It

boosts morale and self-esteem as well as broadens experience and exposes the mind. Now that

service is no longer required, I have loosened the connection that I have between myself and my
community. I have become less hands-on in a position where I have the power and influence to

make change. In a leadership setting, hands-on involvement by the leader is needed for the group

to develop and maintain a clearly defined goal and team work environment. When I am in a

leadership position, I cannot lose sight of the importance of my involvement in the task at hand. I

may hold a title, but my participation is just as important. By developing a participative mindset

in any situation, I can increase its overall productivity as well as my motivation and belief in its

purpose.
Competency Leadership Objective
Personal/Self Level
Self-Management In order to set the example as
a leader for their followers to
emulate, leaders must appear
in tact and confident. They
have to manage themselves to
the extent that their good
traits are significantly
expressed while their bad
traits are overshadowed by
those better traits. This way,
the followers adopt the
leader’s most competent
qualities.
Interpersonal/Team Level
Communication Communication is a broad
term because it encompasses
the leader’s ability to
implement group
collaboration. More
importantly, however, the
leader also has to maintain
healthy communication with
each individual. The fact that
communication is the key to
an effective leadership
process makes it a vital
component for a leader to
possess.
Evidence
When a person attempts to
manage themself and do so in
an effective manner, they
have to first define their own
values and prioritize their
goals and other choices
according to those values. I
value setting myself up for
success through planning. In
order to both appear and be in
tact and confident, I will set
aside at least 30 minutes of
my day for a relaxing activity.
It is easy to get caught in the
overwhelming stress of
college. This way, I would hit
the reset button and be ready
to tackle the rest of the day.
Communication can be
practiced through everyday
activities such as discussion
in class or friendly debates. I
am part of the executive
board for one of my
registered student
organizations, and we each
give presentations every few
weeks. Each presentation
consists of group activities
such as games or discussions,
so I am confident this setting
will give me the opportunity
to put my communication
skills to the test and evaluate
my performance through
self-reflection and group
feedback from my fellow
executive members. I will

Relationship Management Because leadership is a group
process, the effectiveness of
the group relies on its ties.
The relationships between
each member has to remain
professional, and the
relationship between a leader
and their followers has to be
solidified upon respect and
mutual acceptance. It is the
individual’s responsibility to
manage their relationships
with others for the benefit of
the overall group and its
purpose.
Organization Level
Change Management Change is inevitable, but it is
the attitudes towards change
and the potential outcomes it
could bring that shape the
group’s effectiveness. People
who oppose change are most
likely satisfied with their
current situation while others
who seek progression value
the possibility of
opportunities. In order to
progress as a group, the
leader has to influence and
order change with an
optimistic understanding of
failure.
assess my ability to articulate,
engage with the audience, and
read the crowd through body
language and facial
expressions.
Relationship-building is one
of my many passions. I aim to
practice identifying
boundaries within
relationships. Because each
person and setting is different
when it comes to
relationships and how they
progress, I cannot assess a
single relationship. Instead, I
will explore relationships
within multiple settings such
as the workplace and the
classroom. In doing so, I will
be able to experience
different boundaries and more
accurately identify my own
professional, stranger, and
other boundaries.
I believe the best way to be
knowledgeable about what
needs to change in any group
is feedback. In one of my
organizations, I am on the
executive board. We
constantly talk about how we
want to be a better club than
the year before. To do so, I
suggested we have a formal
meeting with all of the
members, not just the
executive members, about
what went well and what did
not go well. Also, each
executive member is replaced
with a new member at the

Community/Society Level
Global Competence Once we enter the world, we
are born into a particular
situation and socialize into
particular groups. Each group
holds its own values and
beliefs about other groups. A
leader not only recognizes
differences in points of view
but strives to develop an
understanding of the role of
their backgrounds in shaping
their views. In doing so, a
leader seeks true knowledge
of other cultures and views
and influences their followers
to do the same.
Sustainability When dealing with change, a
leader has to assess the
impact it would have on the
group. While the leader wants
to be open to change, the
leader does not want to
start of each semester, and my
experience in the transition
was less than adequate. I will
propose that we allow the
elected officials for each
position to shadow the
former. This way, a member
who is interested in a position
will receive experience that is
satisfactory.
There is no better medicine
for an uncultured,
closed-minded college
student than free university
programs, workshops,
organizations, events, and
other opportunities. I am
aware of the Lunch On Us
series at the University of
Illinois and value free food as
much as the next person.
These events host group
discussions about somewhat
sensitive topics in the hopes
of leaving the guests with a
better understanding and less
bias view of the topic. I plan
to attend at least two and
reflect on how my beliefs
before the event compare to
my beliefs after. Even if my
opinion does not change, I
will at least be more
knowledgeable about other
perspectives.
The three core values I chose
that I believe best represent
myself are reflection, social
justice, and integrity. With
each new experience I
endure, I will reflect on my
disrupt the group’s efficiency.
A leader has to understand
what is keeping their ship
afloat and protect it so that
only reasonable and needed
change is acted upon.
Sustainability acts as a safety
net for the group’s
unsuccessful acts of change to
fall back on. It is the leader’s
duty to establish it.
actions and beliefs, consider
if these actions were socially
justified and how I can tackle
societal issues with my new
knowledge, and aim to
maintain integrity. These core
values are the foundation of
me, and if I am able to engage
and maintain with these core
values, I will be sustained. I
will be able to feel and act
like myself, especially in the
most crucial, negative
situations.